Antioxidant activity was measured in 14 plant species incorporated in more than 30% of Tibetan medicines used for cardiovascular disease and related symptoms according to indigenous pharmacopoeias. The study was undertaken in order to explore possible dietary/medicinal elements which may contribute to the reportedly low incidence of cardiovascular disease among Tibetan highlanders despite high hematocrit levels and a high saturated fat/low fruit and vegetable diet. Extracts of Terminalia chebula, Syzygium aromaticum, Aquilaria agallocha, Santalum album, Amomum subulatum, Justicia adhatoda and Myristica fragrans were strong scavengers of the 1,1 diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical (P < 0.05). Cu2+-catalyzed low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation was measured in vitro using thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation and monitoring change in absorbency at 234 rim from conjugated dienes. The hexane fraction of S. aromaticum significantly reduced LDL susceptibility to oxidation (1339.96 +/- 7.01 min. lag time, P < 0.05), more than three times longer than TroloxRTM (431.02 +/- 21.19 min). Results of TBARS (90 min.: r = 0.71, P < 0.005; 180 min.: r = 0.74, P < 0.005) and DPPH (r = 0.69, P < 0.05) assays positively correlated to conjugated dienes formation. Our results suggest that these plants are likely to contribute to the therapeutic effects of traditional drugs used to treat cardiovascular disease.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.30720 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Owen, Patrick L. |
| Contributors | Johns, Timothy (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Plant Science.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001764977, proquestno: MQ64425, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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